But a common problem facing our future is determining what happens if two autonomous cars collide, and who will claim responsible for the damage.

It's thought that insurance companies will begin to capitalize on these issues while automakers will subsequently take on more responsibility.

Here's a brain-teaser: If two self-driving cars collide, who has to pay for repairs?

The answer isn't necessarily as simple as determining who hit whom, a common factor in determining liability when human drivers are behind the wheel. Theoretically, if computers are controlling both vehicles, they're making optimum decisions in every situation and following all applicable traffic laws, a conundrum that might eventually upend the existing auto-insurance system, the largest piece of the U.S. property and casualty market, with about $230 billion in premiums.

In the meantime, the growing interplay between humans and computers in controlling a vehicle makes nuance ever-more important when automobile trips don't go as planned, raising questions about when the electronic driver is in control and whether the human owner — and his or her insurer — are ultimately responsible, regardless.

"This transition is going to take a while to play out," said Cathy Seifert, a New York-based analyst with CFRA Research who authored a report outlining the potential issues for insurers and assessing early responses.

The two most pressing concerns are how totally-autonomous cars might affect the market for liability insurance, the policies drivers are typically required to carry that cover injuries and damage to others, and how insurers navigate the shift between today's automobiles and those of the future, she said.

Today, 94% of accidents are blamed on human mistakes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but the move toward computerized navigation is likely to shift responsibility back toward carmakers, said Seifert.

"While this change has dramatic implications for the insurance industry and society as a whole, managing it is a challenge for insurers, and the stakes are high," she said.

Liability coverage, mandatory in most U.S. states, accounted for $121.5 billion of premiums last year. "It's what costs us the most, and it's the most likely to be disrupted by driverless cars," Seifert said.

Since adoption of the new technology is likely to be gradual, the semi-autonomous — or driver-assisted — cars produced in the interim period might expand, rather than narrow, the range of potential causes in an accident.

The role of such technology has come under increased scrutiny this year, with two fatalities involving vehicles from by Uber and Tesla, respectively.

In the first case, under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg was struck by a self-driving Uber vehicle as she attempted to walk a bicycle across a Tempe, Ariz., street about 10 p.m. on Sunday, March 18, according to local police.

About five days later, 38-year-old Apple engineer Walter Huang died when his Tesla Model X caught fire after striking a barrier in Mountain View, Calif., and being hit by two other cars.

The automaker subsequently said that the car's Autopilot technology had been activated just moments before the collision, with its adaptive cruise control follow-distance set to minimum, and that the system gave several audible and visual warnings before impact.

In the aftermath, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who previously supported the vehicles, ordered Uber to halt its tests in that state, and Senate Democrats started probing a legal loophole that could block consumers from suing autonomous-vehicle companies.

Still, self-driving car supporters in both the Obama and Trump administrations have said the technology has the potential to dramatically reduce deaths and injuries caused by distracted drivers. In 2015 alone, about 3,450 people were killed on U.S. roads and another 391,000 injured in accidents where one or more drivers weren't paying sufficient attention, according to the traffic safety administration.

If human error can be minimized by taking control of the moving vehicle away from the driver, the accident rate should tumble, agreed the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group. The institute cited a RAND Corp. study in 2016 projecting that manufacturer liability would increase while personal liability is likely to drop.

As a legal matter, it isn't clear who would be at fault in crashes involving self-driving cars, "since that is a matter for legislators and courts to decide, and there have been no laws passed or cases filed," said James Lynch, chief actuary for the institute. "Most observers believe that if the driver has ceded complete control, then the carmaker would be responsible — or one of the suppliers, if their part caused the accident."

Ultimately, the institute believes, insurance will still be required, at the very least to protect cars that have flooded or been hit by trees or hail. Such reimbursements come through comprehensive coverage, which despite its name, is a policy component that has to be added to liability and collision coverage but doesn't substitute for them.

"It will take a long time before self-driving vehicles dominate the roads," Lynch said. "What other types of insurance are needed will depend on how the law and court cases go."